If you’re considering becoming a gas engineer as your new career, it can be daunting to know how or where to start, especially if you’re thinking of it as a career change.  You can look up courses and qualifications, but it’s not always easy to understand what the route looks like in practice and how long it might take to go from where you are now to being a working, fully qualified domestic gas engineer.  

The role of the Gas Safe Register

The Gas Safe Register sets out the standards to ensure public safety. It is the only UK official list of gas engineers who can legally work on gas. In other words, it’s illegal to carry out any work on gas unless you are registered with them.  

To be eligible to register with Gas Safe, you need to hold a relevant recognised qualification and be able to prove your competence as a safe gas engineer. The path to Gas Safe registration is outlined on the Gas Safe Register’s website.  

But how do you decide where to start, which gas training to choose? What about the gas portfolio? How do you find a placement? And once the training’s done and you’re Gas Safe Registered, what else do you need to do for continued registration?  

From initial training to registration: the steps to becoming a gas engineer

1. Choosing a course that will allow you to qualify as a gas engineer 

Gas Safe says: “Whether you’re just starting out or you need to refresh your skills and knowledge, it’s crucial that the training programme you choose is industry recognised and meets Gas Safe requirements.” (“The path to Gas Safe registration”)  

A Managed Learning Programme, or MLP, is an accredited training programme that typically takes around 8 weeks to complete. You'll then be tested on that in the required ACS assessment (more on that in point 3).  

At Able Skills, we teach the LCL Awards Managed Learning Programme, which will be your first step. This initial gas training will give you the practical skills and knowledge to be able to work safely and competently as a heating engineer. 

2. Work placement (gas portfolio) 

Gas Safe says: “Evidence of gas safety competence is awarded through the process of proving to a recognised awarding body that you have the appropriate level of knowledge, understanding and practical skills to undertake gas work safely.”  

Once you’ve done the initial training, you’ll need to find a work placement with a Gas Safe Registered engineer. It's during this time that you'll apply the knowledge and skills, while supervised, in real-life working environments. You’ll need to log 150 hours of supervised work and collect evidence that’s recorded and verified, so you can prove your competence. 

At Able Skills, we’re in quite a unique position of being able to guarantee work placements for students on our Gas Course. We have a partnership with Wightway Gas Services, a local plumbing and heating company, so you don’t have to spend time looking for and securing a placement.  

3. Accredited Certification Scheme (ACS) 

Gas Safe says: “It’s also worth noting that you’ll need to successfully complete any training programme before you can move forward to assessment.” 

ACS assessment follows successful completion of the MLP and portfolio stages. It takes up to five days to do the assesment and it's where you'll be tested and certified on your knowledge and skills that you've gained in the MLP and put into practice on placement. 

4. Gas Safe Registration 

Gas Safe says: “The hard part’s over; once Gas Safe Register receive your qualifications from the awarding body, you can simply apply for registration.”  

You’re then placed into a probationary period with Gas Safe; you’ll be registered and can carry out work, but you’ll have to keep records and evidence of gas work until they take you out of the probationary period, which is usually three months. Gas Safe Registration lasts 12 months, so you’ll need to renew it every year.  

Follow gas student Fahad on his pathway to become a heating engineer. 

Where to go next on your journey to becoming a gas engineer?

Head to the Gas Safe Register for all the information about becoming Gas Safe Registered. 

Browse Able Skills Gas Engineer courses for training pathways to become a gas engineer as well as ACS Assessment and ACS Reassessments, Gas Portfolio Placements, and further training in Boiler Fault Finding or Commercial Gas.  

Contact us if you have any questions about how to become a gas engineer.